Lubricating attachment



W. H. EDMUNDS.

LUBRICATING ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATJON FILED DEC.4, 1919.

V Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET I- W. H. EDMUNDS.

LUBRICATING ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4, 1919.

1,371,151 Patented Mar. 8,1921,

-3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. H. EDMUNDS.

' LUBRICATING ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.4.1919.

1,371,151 Patented M21128, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FIE.

WILLIAM EDMUNDS, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

' LUBRICATING ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 8, 1921.

Application filed December 4, 1919. 'Serial No. 342.401.

To best comprehend the objects of my improvements it may be explained that in certain types of motor vehicles, it is necessary to repeatedly and frequently replenish this supply to maintain asuflicient quantity of oil to insure against depletion toa point of danger or exhaustion, but this either leads to over lubrication with its disadvantages of quick carbonization, or likelihood of running low of the supply in the event it is not constantly watched. In other words, it is known that too much oil is just as unsatisfactory as too little, and the tendency is to neglect this all important requirement of proper lubrication because it naturally involves disagreeable and dirty work.

\Vhat I aim to accomplish is to provide means whereby a reserve supply will constan'tly feed to the main supply just as, and only as, it is required to maintain the latter constant, and to insure that the oil level will be at the lowest polnt consistent with afiording a sufliciency without running into the- (lisadvantages above refered to of underor over-lubrication.

Ancillary to the above ends, it is my object to prevent the feeding of the oil when the vehicle is not in operation and further, to eliminate likelihood of accidental escape from the reserve to the main supply when, owing to movement of the vehicle, this would become possible by reason of the uncovering of the air control port which liberates the feeding action in this type of lubricating systems. i

I have had in mind, in addition to the foregoing, the desirability of providing an article which will readily adapt itself for'at'-' tachment without requiring modification of the equlpment of the motor vehicle as manufactured or supplied to the trade, and one which 1s capable of adjustment so as to maintain that constant level which is desired for the particular motor or best suited to the needs of the vehicle, all of which will become apparent by reference to the following def... scr1ption,-and-the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a motor vehicle showing my appliance in operative position thereupon.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the reserve supply reservoir.

' Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sectional views on the lines 3-3 and 11, respectively, of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5-is a sectional view of the oil gage portion, enlarged, the oil tube being shown in dotted lines.

Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional views on the 'lines 6-6 and 7-7, respectively, of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view showing more clearly the connection with the base (f)f the crank case and the drain plug there- Fig. 9 is a sectional view, enlarged, on the line 99 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view on the line 10-19 of Fig. 7 and Figs. 11 and 12 are views, respectively, of the gage carrying ni pl used with this appliance.

hroughout the following detail description and on the several figures of the drawings, similar parts are referred to by like reference characters.

It should be explained at this point that this invention is designed to be applied to the well known Ford automobile in which the crank case contains a suitable supplyof lubricant that is distributed to the motorby the splash system. The crank case-is always provided with two petcock openings which serve as a guide to the operator to determine the quantity of oil to be maintained in the said crank case, the lower petcock opening representing the lowest level to which the detail side and end higher or upper of said openings represents the point beyond which the supply would be excessive. The instructions usually are that the supply be maintained between these two points but this arrangement is located at such an unhandy place that the maintenance of a proper supply is more orless neglected. The ideal condition forthe best service in a motor vehicle is where the oil level is maintained constantly at the lowest point for efiectiveness of operation of the lubricating system but with the conventional equipment upon the machine this is entirely impracticable and hence my invention is particularly designed to render this feasible, belng automatically operable so as to require little or no attention on the part of the operator.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the crank case into the lower petcock opening of which I screw an externally threaded nipple 2, referring-to Fig. 6, this being locked by means of the bushing nut '3. Upon this nipple I mount that portion of my apparatus which I term for the purpose of this description the gage, this consisting of the metal tube 4 which is of suitable diameter and length and-provided at one side with a hollow boss 5 which freely fits over the threaded nipple 2 referred to. The passage 2' of the nipple is placed in communication with the interior of the tube 4 by the lateral opening 2" in the nip 1e and the passage 2 through the side of t e tube 4 so that oil may flow from the crank case through these passages, or from the gage into the crank case in the reverse direction. I utilize the upper crank case opening of the conventional equipment to assist in supporting the gage in the positlon most clearly shown in Fig. 5, and for this purpose, as shown in Fig. 9, a threaded stud 6 is screwed into the opening and secured by a clamping nut 7. An open or clamping collar 8 freely engaging about the tube 4 is slipped upon this stud 6 and a nut 9 is then screwed upon the stud to clamp the collar about the gage so as to hold the latter in rigid osition upon the crank case. It will be noticed that the collar opening is formed so as to permit of its proper engagement with the gage regardless of the slight variation in the angle at which the opening in the crank case is made with respect to the lower opening in said crank case, there usually being some slight variation. Into the lower end of the gage tube 4 I screw the plug end of a short pipe 10, this pipe terminating at its other end in the collar 11 provided with an internal annular groove 12. Through this collar the 'hollow plug 13 is passed and screwed into the opening at the base of the crank case adjacent to the eriphery of the fly wheel of the engine, t is opening in the crank case being for the purposes ofdrainage of the oil thereto settle in said chamber around the plug,

which latter is provided with-a small closing plug 15 which may be removed whenever it "is desired to drain the crank case without detachment of the gage. The annular groove 12 always insures communication between the pipe 10 and the interior of the plug 13 through a lateral opening 13' which may be positioned at any point determined by the tightening of the plug in place against leakage.

Into the upper end of the tube 4 which is provided with a hollow plug 16, internally threaded, I screw the adjustable terminal 17 of an air conduit or tube 18. This terminal, as will be observed in Fig. 5, is provided with external threads for a suitable distance to obtain a wide range of adjustment and the lower end of the terminal carries a series of battles or disks 19 attached to the terminal off center, as clearly shown in Fig. 6, the terminal being bent as indicated at 20. In carrying out this arrangement, the diameter of the baffle disks is slightly less than the interior of the gage tube 4 and owing to this arrangement the oil passes with difficulty" by the baflies, for purposes hereinafter more particularly pointed out. When the terminal 17 is positioned at the proper point the clamping nut 21 is tightened against the plug 16 and the adjustment-just referred to is what determines the constant oil level in.the crank case, the lower end of the terminal providing the controlling air port which prevents the flow of oil to the crank case or gage when it is sealed by the liquid therein as will later be explained.

In conjunction with the gage end of the appliance just described I employ a reserve supply reservoir which may be conveniently located at any point on the vehicle at ahigher level than the gage referred to. In the preferredembodiment I have illustrated this reserve reservoir as attached to the dash of the vehicle beneath the engine hood, as indicated at 22. The receptacle may be of any material but that form of the same shown in the. drawing consists of a. glass body 23 secured between the top 24 and the bottom 25.

This reservoir is provided with a removable closure plug 26 to permit of the filling of the receptacle with a desired amount of the lubri-' cant and a float 27 may be provided, when the body 23 is either metal or glass, to aid in the filling of the receptacle, this float being held in the position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings by engagement with the filler plug 26. The air tube 18 from the gage enters at the top of the reservoir 22- so as to extend into the air space above the supply of lubricant. From the bottom of the receptacle the oil supply pipe 28 extends downwardly to the elbow 29 which enters the lower end of the gage tube 4 as shown in Fig. 7. In this oil conduit I introduce a cut-ofi 30 provided with a valve handle 31 and this handle is' connected by a cable 32 to the arm 33 which is attached to the shaft 34; of the vehicle, which carries the emergency brake lever 35. The valve is thereby operable by a movement' of the brake lever whenever said lever is employed to control the movement of the vehicle, this lever being always employed to lock the vehicle when it stops. Whenever said lever' is moved forwardly to release the brakes the cut-off, which is closed by the lever in its rearward movement, is opened through the action of a spring 36 which is connected tothe arm 31 of the cut-off and to the base of the reserve supply reservoir 32 or any other convenient point. It should be noted that the conduits 18 and 28 are flexible and of sufiicient length to permit of the attachment, of the device to the vehicle with a reasonable range of latitude in accommodating the two main parts hereinbefore described.

While it is not an essentialportion of my appliance, I nevertheless make provision, for I the use of a sight glass in connection with the gage above described and this is de{ signed to enable the operator of the vehicle to observe, if he' so desires, whether the apparatus is working correctly and thus to ive him confidence in the automatic con-. trol of the lubricating system employed by him. The sightglass, indicated at 37 is of the ordinary conventional type and is'connected to the end of the threaded nipple 2 as shown in Fig.7 by the connector 38. When this glass is not-employed the end of the nipple 2 is closed by means of a small screw plug 2*. The connector 38 is formed as shown in Figs. 11 and 12 most clearly, so as to enable the sight glass 37 to be arranged in a true vertical position, regardless of any inclination of the nipple 2 caused by the inaccuracy of boring or threading the petcock opening of the crank case. To firmly clamp the gage upon the threaded nipple in the mannerhereinbefore described a bushing nut 39 is secured upon the nipple asshown in Fig.' 6, and this firmly. holds the apparatus in place just in the rear of the enlargement of the crankcase accommodating the fly wheel. I purposely dispose this portion of my apparatus in close proximity to the crank case at this position to insure against likelihood of its being struck by an object over which the machine might run. v

In the use and operation of this apparatus it will be understood that the reservoir 22 of the oil to the gage,

is filled with a supply of lubricant after the proper case and when the motor vehicle is to be 0perated the brake lever 35 is moved forwardly to release the brakes. This opens the cut-off 18 and allows the lubricant to flow by the pipe 28 to the gage 4. The flow however iscontrolled by the adjustable terminal 17' of the air tube 2, the lower bafiled extremity of which is designed to be so adjusted in the tube 4 that its mouth will represent the predetermined oil level which it is desired to maintain. When the oil supply in the crank case falls below the end of the tube, atmospheric pressure is admitted into the tube and into the air chamber above the lubricant in the supply reservoir 23, thereby permitting the oil to run into the gage until the mouth of the air tube is closed. The atmospheric pressure is obtained by admitting the air from the crank case through the threaded nipple 2, or the gage tube 4 may be provided with an opening at its upper end for this purpose. To' produce a modification of the oil level, if such is required, it is only necessary to raise or lower the terminal 17 in an obvious manner. But to best serve the purposes of the invention and to obtain the best results the oil level should be maintained at the lowest possible point, that is approximate the lower crank case opening in the particular type of vehicle herein described.

Owing to the inclination at which the gage is arranged, as shown in Fig. 5, 'I preferably form the end of the air tube with the bend as indicated at 20, so that the opening will lie at the lower side of the tube 4. It would only be necessary to, rotate this terminal 17 to shift this bent portion of the tube to accomplish a raising of the oil level, this being an incidental feature of the'arrangement as provided.

.It will be understood that in motor vehicles, the oil is more or less subject to sloshing when traveling over rough, uneven ground and in known device of the character of this invention this .leads to the disadvantage of accidental uncovering of the air port or mouth of the air tube 17. When this takes place the oil is permitted to run into the gage and the crank case and the oil level is thus raised beyond the prethereby lowering the oil level at this point where the gage is attached. This would affect the proper operation of a constant level oil gage of this type unless provision is made to prevent this from occuring. For this reason arrange the entrance pipe 10 at the base of the fly wheel portion of the crank case adjacent to the periphery of the fly wheel wherea sufiicient pressure is produced by the centrifugal action of the oil thrown by the fly wheel to force the oil into the lower end of the gage tube 4 so that the level of the oil does not fall, in my apparatus, awayfrom the entrance of the air tube even when the level in the sump is lowered by the operation of the engine. The arrangement of my appliance is therefore such that the" oil level ma be maintained at the low point found deslrable under all conditions. It should be understood, however, that I do not depend entirely upon the centrifugal action of the fly-wheel to maintain the oil supply inthe gage tube 4 because of the fact that the tube 10 connects with the lowest point of the crank case and naturally the oil in seeking its level will stand in the gage tube in accordance with the level in the fly wheel portion of the crankcase.

When the motor vehicle is brought to a stop the emergency lever 35 is drawn rearwardly, which closes the cut-ofi' 30 and precludes the flow of oil from the reserve tank when the vehicle is standing still. Under such conditions the appliance is completely automatic and requires little or no attention on the part of the operator otherithan the maintenance of a sufficient supply of oil in the reserve reservoir.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. In lubricating apparatus of the class described, the combination with an engine crank case, of a lubricant supply reservoir at a higher level, an oil conduit establishing communication between the reservoir and the crank case, an air tube arranged to admit air to the reservoir and thereby allow feeding of the lubricant, said tube having an ad ustable terminal adapted to bedisposed'with its entrance at the proper height with respect to the crank case lubricant at which the level of said lubricant is to be maintained so as to be closed by said lubricant, and inclosing means in which said adjustable terminal is disposed and having communication with the crank case at a point to receive oil under action of the engine fly wheel. p

2. In lubricating apparatus forinternal combustion engines, the combination with a crank case adapted to hold a supply of oil and having an opening arranged approximate the point of safety for the oil level therein, of a gage device constituting an attachment for said crank case connee ing at an intermediate point in its length with the crank case through said opening, an oil reserve supply chamber arranged at a higher level, an oil conduit establis 'ng communication between the reserve s pply and the crank case through the opening aforesaid, an air tube connected at one end with the reserve supply to admit pressure thereto and having its lower end adjustabl mounted in the gage for maintainin oil level in the crank caseat a pre eter mined level, and a separate oil passage b i tween the gage and the crank case to adm oil therefrom for closing the air tube outlo in the gage.

3. A lubricating attachment forinternz: combustion engines for maintaining a cor: stant level of oil in the crank case compris in a stand tube, a nipple connecting sattulie to the crank case, anfoil reserve suppl; chamber-adapted to be arranged at a highe level than the crank case and connecting with the stand tube, an air conduit between the chamber and the stand tube into whicl the air conduit extends, and bafiie means or; said conduit preventing sudden movement of the oil past the mouth of the conduit.

4. A lubricating attachment for internal combustion engines for maintaining a constant levelof oil in the crank case comprismg a stand tube having an opening establishing communication with the crank case at approximately the low point of safety of maintenance of the oil level therein, means engaging said stand tube to firmly hold the same upon thecrank case, a conduit connecting the end of the stand tube with the drain outlet of the crank case, an oil reserve supply chamber arranged at a higher level, an oil conduit intermediate said reserve chamber and the stand tube, a cut off in said oil conduit, manually operable means connected with the cut off to close the same when moved in one direction, means for automatically opening the cut oif when said manually operable means is moved in the opposite direction, and an air tube intermediate the oil reserve chamber and the stand tube including a threaded terminal] extending into the stand tube and adjustable longitudinally thereof to provide for modification of the predetermined oil level.

5. A lubricating attachment for internal combustion enginesfor maintaining a constant level of oil in the crank case compris ing a stand tube having a hollow boss projecting from one side, a threaded nipple adapted to be connected to the crank case and extending into said hollow boss for establishing communication between the crank case and the stand tube, means on said nipple for clamping the tube in position upon the i i the crank case, a retaining collar supported by said crank ease and engaging with the tube to hold the latter in position upon the crank case, a conduit extending from the base of the stand tube to the drain opening of the crank case, means for holding the end of the conduit at the drain opening and establishing communication between said opening and the crank case, an oil reserve supply reservoir disposed at a higher level 10 and having a passage establishing communication with the stand tube, an air tube extending from the stand tube to the oil reserve reservoir, and means in said air passage for cutting off the supply of oil to the 15 stand .tube.

In testimony whereof I affix my s1 ature.

WILLIAM H. ED DS. 

